At the moment when his father died and left, and the black pen and ink on the wall were taken into photos, Zhang Hong just realized that he understood "father" for the first time.
On March 31, independent photographer Cai Shanhai passed through a village in Ekou Township, Dai County, Shanxi Province, and met a family on the side of the road who was making a funeral ceremony. The villagers mourn an old man who has just passed away, Zhang Fuqing, who died at the age of 78.
At this funeral, surrounded by sadness, there was a lot of mourning. The sun shines on the yellow brick rural self-built house, which has an unpretentious appearance, but the walls are clearly covered with a layer of life records composed of black pen and ink.
The person who wrote the pen was Zhang Fuqing.
In the past 20 years, this old man who has just passed away has left a wall full of "diary of heart" in the courtyard of the old house with black calligraphy. At the beginning of April, photographer Cai Shanhai collected and took these photos and shared them on social platforms, attracting the attention of many netizens.
In the freeze-frame photo, Zhang Fuqing uses the wall instead of paper to record his more than 20 years in words.
He commemorated his daily life on the wall: "On April 23, 2005, Fuqing spent only 24 days to renovate this house, spending 8,000 yuan. ”
Looking into the distance: "How big is the universe? The surface temperature of the sun is 6,000 degrees, the center is 15 million degrees, the volume is 1.3 million times that of the earth, and the weight is 330,000 times that of the earth. It takes 20 years for the plane to fly to the sun. The Moon is one-forty-eighth the volume of the Earth and has 200 billion stars......"
After the entrustment: "At the age of 77, Fuqing built a house to be perfect, and I hope that future generations will sweep the house every year, mud leakage, winter sweep of small west room snow, rat hole, bird's nest, pigeon dwelling, do not set off fire, and prevent floods with the gate sealing method." ”
After seeing the photo, some netizens left a message: It seems that I have seen the expansion of the word "things are not people" here.
In an interview with a reporter from Xiaoxiang Morning News (WeChat: xxcbbaoliao), Zhang Honggang said that his father's death made him suddenly realize what these words on the wall meant. There are punctuation, exclamation points, and periods added to many words, with the tone of my father, as if I am talking to him. ”
The deceased old man wrote his life years on the wall of his hometown
Zhang Fuqing's habit of leaving words on the wall began in 1998.
(eldest son) Zhang Honggang remembers that when his younger brother was 7 years old, the family had saved a sum of money, and his father kept talking about building a big house for his family to live in. Before that, several members of the family had been living in the old house left by their grandfather. Courtyard style, 200 square meters in size, the space is spacious enough, but the house is made of adobe, which has fallen into disrepair, and the walls are always crumbling. Every time it is windy and rainy, normal life will be affected. In the memories of the brothers, it often rained heavily outside and light rain at home.
Finally, that year, they saved up for the first time to renovate their ancestral home.
To save money, my father would mark the bricks down to the exact number of bricks needed to build a wall and build a room. As a result of this plan, he developed the habit of writing on the wall.
The renovation of the new house lasted from 1998 to 2008, during which time the work was stopped when there was a shortage of money, and the construction was restarted when the money was saved.
There are different opinions on the construction of old houses, especially the younger generation, who think that they can save money to buy a house in the county, and there is no need to spend energy to build a new house on the old house. Zhang Fuqing insisted that this is a house handed down from his ancestors, "It should be cherished and cared for." ”
As the eldest son in the family, Zhang Honggang said that the concept of Northwest people, the opinions of parents are very important, so he chose to respect his father's ideas.
At the time, he had already graduated from high school. When I go out to work, I will deliberately set aside a part of my income for food and clothing, and send the rest back home. He knew that his father was reluctant to spend money, so he collected almost all of them and used them to buy bricks and cement, or to raise the house, or to build a door beam, so that he continued to build the big mansion of his hometown.
"He (Zhang Fuqing) would write on it, initially with chalk, and during the second build, we found out that he began to write with a brush. Zhang Honggang said that this is because his father found that chalk writing is easy to erase and erase, and using a brush to write, and then attaching varnish can prevent the handwriting from fading due to wind and sun.
In 2008, the new house was gradually completed. The words written by Zhang Fuqing have gradually remained in the corners and corners of the courtyard of the old house.
Witnessing the other old men leaving, he sped up his writing
As he turns 60, Zhang Fuqing is increasingly worried that his past experiences will be forgotten. No one can replace the memory preservation, because the time is too long, many details, even Zhang Honggang as a son can not remember clearly.
But the words left on the wall, can.
On April 20, 2021, he wrote on the wall with black pen and ink: "In the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, I had coronary heart disease and got a stent. The hospital has completed the two stents in the heart so far, and the medicine is taken for two days a day, and the child pays for it. In winter, when it snows and pours smoke barrels, please run en and yuexiang to do it, and give things or money. I'm 74 years old and can't do two things anymore. 75 years after the Guyu Festival, I will add cotton clothes again. ”
This illness led to a long period of time, Zhang Fuqing spent time in the hospital bed, seeking medical treatment. At the same time, he also sped up the speed of writing.
In 2017, he took the place of his son to help attend the funeral of an elderly man of the same generation, and after returning for a year of brewing, he found a wooden board and wrote on it his instructions for the child's future:
- "After the death of your father, please pay attention to your mother's thoughts and uncle, and after burying your father, you can find a person who serves her as a companion, or send your mother to live in a nursing home, and then ask an honest household to live in the east room of our home and open a store." When your parents were alive, they were satisfied with the filial piety of your brothers, and I hope that you two brothers will walk together and unite as the Lord. Nurture your offspring and become the head of the family with filial piety. 1 February 2018".
This is also the most impressive note of Zhang Honggang, he said, what he saw and heard on that trip had a great impact on his father, "He went to help take care of the funeral, and after he came back, he began to be busy with the aftermath, some future plans, and an explanation to his children." There is also more and more content written on the wall. ”
In addition to telling the two brothers to understand and unite with each other, what he is most at ease with is his partner. In 2006, she had a seizure due to illness and needed to take long-term medication to control her health, and she couldn't do without someone around to take care of her.
People in the village remember that on warm days in winter, or when the air is cool in spring and autumn, the old people like to sit on the side of the road and chat and bask in the sun. Zhang Fuqing rarely comes out, and in his spare time, he is either taking care of his wife, or he likes to use a brush to scribble on the wall.
The photographer's accidental photograph of the "offline circle of friends" touched tens of thousands of netizens
Independent photographer Cai Shanhai also maintains a habit. He likes to photograph local people, especially the white affairs of the old man's funeral. Feel the temperament of a piece of land from the folk culture. On March 31, as usual, he drove through a village in Ekou Town, Dai County, Shanxi Province, and met a family on the side of the road who was doing a funeral service.
Just 4 days ago, Zhang Fuqing passed away at the age of 78. He left suddenly, and on the morning of his death, he was still talking on the phone with his eldest son. The family organized a funeral ceremony for him according to the traditional customs of the village, and happened to meet Cai Shanhai who passed by here.
With the consent of relatives and friends, Cai Shanhai entered the courtyard to shoot.
He took a step closer and saw that at this funeral, which was surrounded by sadness, there was a lot of mourning. The sun shines on the self-built houses in the countryside made of yellow bricks, and the appearance is unpretentious. The courtyard of two or three hundred square meters, the corners of the walls are full of words, including the pigsty, kitchen, porch and other places that can be seen, are covered with a layer of life records composed of black pen and ink. The person who wrote the pen was Zhang Fuqing.
For the first shooting, Cai Shanhai sorted out 32 documentary photos, clicked to enlarge, and carried the black pen and ink written by Zhang Fuqing. He shared the photos on social platforms, attracting many netizens to watch them. Some people commented: "I am so moved, on these bricks, I can see that he seriously manages his life, and countless small ideas that emerge in his life...... and some people say: "I seem to see the development of the word 'things are people' here." ”
In the photos shared by Zhang Fuqing, he sighed seven years ago: "I am 71 years old, and I will not pay for the old man's mobile phone." ”
After another year, he encouraged himself: "On December 1st, you must go to the evolution mobile phone and pay the electricity bill online, I won't pay it at the age of 72, and Honggang Hongying will pay it." ”
But netizens believe that these words written on the walls of the old house are the best offline circle of friends left by the old man to all his followers.
Cai Shanhai told reporters that he went to Zhang Fuqing's old house twice to take pictures of the "wall characters" left by the old man. Some people say that through the photo, they feel the loneliness of an old man as the years go by. As a photographer, what he wants to convey is: with a rich spiritual world, the elderly may not be lonely before they die.
Cai Shanhai told reporters about the experience of going to the village for the second time to shoot. He forgot the way, walked to the entrance of the village and asked a local young man, showed the photo to the other party, and the other party immediately turned red after reading it......
This set of photos touched tens of thousands of netizens, as well as fellow villagers who knew Zhang Fuqing.
Cai Shanhai has been trying to find out what the cause of this moving emotion is. It wasn't until the second visit that the apricot blossoms in the courtyard of the old house bloomed, and all the buds bloomed. He stood in the courtyard, looking around at the words engraved on the walls around him, the sun was falling, and he saw a poem written by Zhang Fuqing on the wall: "The people of the past have taken the yellow crane to go, and the white clouds have been empty for thousands of years." ”
A netizen left a message: "Seeing these words, I feel that the old man is just going out for a long time......"
Zhang Honggang felt that the moment his father died and left, and the black pen and ink on the wall were photographed, he realized that he understood his father for the first time, "He wrote his life and heart all over the courtyard, so that people want to see and remember, and now many people have seen it." ”
He thanked netizens for the kindness and warmth expressed to his father.
Long press the QR code below to subscribe ↓ ↓ ↓
2024
China Women's Daily, China Women's Movement
Source/Xiaoxiang Morning News Editor-in-Charge/Cai Lengyue, Tianyuan Huang Die's Review/Yifan Producer/Zhifei